Turkish Press Review

ISTANBUL

Anadolu Agency does not verify these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Turkish newspapers on Friday continued to cover reactions to the gut-wrenching photo of the drowned Syrian toddler who washed up on a beach in southern Turkey, as details emerge.

"My children slipped from my hands," was MILLIYET’s headline, quoting the father of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi of whom the photograph caused international outrage about the refugee crisis.

The three-year-old child was one of 12 Syrians who drowned in the Aegean Sea after two boats filled with refugees en route to Greece’s Kos Island from the Turkish resort district of Bodrum, sank on Wednesday.

Featuring a picture of the boy carried away by a Turkish officer, the newspaper said that the father Abdullah Kurdi -- a Syrian Kurdish from Kobani, which was the scene of fierce clashes between Kurdish armed groups and Daesh militants -- described what had happened in the boat heading to Greece on Wednesday night.

According to MILLIYET, high waves caused panic on board and capsized the boat.

"We tried to hold on to the boat. (...) Everybody was screaming in the darkness of night. I couldn’t make my voice heard to my children and my wife. I swam to shore by following the lights," the daily wrote quoting the father.

"Like a slap," was HURRIYET’s headline, featuring an earlier picture of the two now-deceased brothers when they were holding a teddy bear and smiling.

SABAH ran with the front-page headline "World insensible, Europe lacking conscience," quoting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who spoke in a G20 meeting in capital Ankara.

"It is humanity that is drowning in the Mediterranean; those responsible show no remorse or regret," SABAH wrote, quoting Erdogan who pointed the finger at Western governments, accused by him of worsening the refugee crisis and of being responsible for the deaths of migrants seeking shelter from war-torn countries.

"Wild West," was STAR’s headline while CUMHURIYET wrote : "World spoke about him [Aylan Kurdi]."

Turkish dailies also covered the killing of four policemen in a bomb attack blamed on the terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey’s southeastern province of Mardin.

"They laid an ambush: 4 martyred," wrote MILLIYET, while YENI SAFAK’s headline was "Bombed trap".

Police said the bomb was planted near an overpass and was detonated when a car carrying the policemen passed through in Mardin's Dargecit district.

The fighting between the terrorist group and the security forces had seen a fragile lull for a two-and-a-half year period from early 2013 in what is publicly known as the "solution process" in an attempt to end the decades-long conflict.

Turkish dailies also covered the football match between Turkey and Latvia, a qualifier for the EURO 2016, in which the two national teams drew 1-1 in Turkey's central province of Konya on Thursday.

"91-year curse," wrote MILLIYET, reporting that Turkey has never defeated Latvia in 91 years.

Turkish footballer Selcuk Ilhan scored for Turkey at the 77th minute as Latvia's Valerijs Sabala equalized in injury time.

"No giving up," was HABERTURK’s headline while YENI SAFAK wrote "We collapsed in extra time".